Pliers.



I.. S. STARHETT.

PLIERS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 6. 1915.

L@ @9558., Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

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COANY, 0F THOL, MASSACHUSETTS, A GORPORIAJEIJB` 0F t1- PLI To all wao/m, it may concern.'

Be it known that I, LARoY S. STARRETT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Athol, county of Worcester, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements` in Pliers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to wire cutters and particularly to a wire cutting attachment for pliers or wire working tools. To the end therefore of producing a tool of this character I have devised my present invention.

In it, l combine with the pliers jaws a wire cutting attachment enabling the wire to be gripped between the jaws and cut while so held or to be cut by simply holding it in the hands and feeding it past the cutters. This cutting attachment is capable of adjustment whenever necessary so as to constantly present sharp cutting edges to the wire and it may be wholly removed from the pliers for purposes of sharpening or substitution.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification I have shown as an illustrative embodiment a pliers which not only clearly illustrates the principles involved, but is in itself a form which has proven satisfactory in use and has been found well adapted to the requirements of manufacture.

Throughout specification anddrawings like reference numerals are correspondingly applied, and in these drawings: Figure 1 is an elevation of a pliers with my cutters, Fig. 2 is a detail view of one of the jaws, Fig. 3 is a detail partly in section of one of the cutters removed, and Fig. 4 is a, section of one jaw on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

I have indicated at 1 and 2 respectively a pair of crossed levers or handles which are pivoted to each other at 3 and have oppositely disposed gripping jaws 4 and 5, the opposed faces of which are serrated to in sure a firm grip on the wire or other article being worked upon.

Each handle has a liattened portion 11 and 21 upon its outer face. The faces 11 and 21 provide hammer heads which are very useful in some applications of the tool. These hammer heads are preferably located on the jaw portions of the handles so as to permit a full grip on the handles as a shank or handle for the hammer and secure a long Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented dan. 2, 191%..

application mea February e, 1915. serial no. ases.

lever arm for the hammer as well as a more solid base for the heads.

The jaws are so shaped internally as to define when closed an axial socket 6 in which a wire to be cut may be inserted. Each jaw carries a laterallyy disposed circular cutter 7 adjustably and removably held thereto by a set screw 8. The cutters 7 are preferably 1n the form of oppositely disposed disks having beveled peripheral cutting edges 17 disposed in substantial peripheral contact with each other. The inner face of each cutter has an internal annular shoulder 7L which seats on a corresponding shoulder within an annular recess formed in the jaw. This enables the cutters to be fastened to the jaws with their cutting edges closely adjacent to the faces of the jaws. The outer face of each cutter is annularly. recessed as indicated to form an internal annular seat 7 2 for the head of the screw. This permits the screws to be set up with their heads substantially flush with the outer faces of the cutters. Adjustment of the cutters circumferentially relative to each other so as to always present a sharp cutting edge to the wire is had by loosening one of the screws and slightly rotating that cutter. The cut ters are wholly removable for purposes of resharpening or substitution by simply removing the screws. It will be seen that I have provided plier consisting of a pair of` jaws having acting or gripping faces which are radial to the pivot of the plier levers, these jaws being provided with anterior or lateralhammer forming faces which serve to .protect a pair of rotative disk cutters one of each of which is mounted in coordinate relation on respective levers of the pliers so as to readily cut a piece of inserted wire disposed transversely of the plier levers in the range of action of the cutters; the device beingl adapted to be operated entirely by a single hand of an operator to cut wires or the like when inserted between the cutters. Further advantage of my present invention is that the cutters are provided with annular hubs on one side the peripheral surfaces ofwhich are disposed to be supported by complementary recesses formed therefor in the sides of the plier levers the walls of the recesses being normal to the plane of the side of the is taken by the body of the levers and thereby removed from the fastening device holding the cutters to the levers,

Various modifications in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts may obviously be resorted to all without departing from the spirit of my invention if within the limits of the appended claims.

IVhat I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. Pliers comprising pivoted levers having hammer headed, opposed jaws with faces radial to the pivot, each jaw having a notch on its inner face adjacent to the pivot for said levers and said notches opposed to each otherv and deining, when the jaws are brought together, a wire receiving opening disposed transversely of the inner end of the pliers jaws, each jaw having an annular recess on its top face adjacent to said pivot and substantially opposite the recess of the coperating jaw, and a pair of circular cutters overlying said opening and having each a depending hub seated in each recess and having peripheral cutting edges disposed substantially in contact with each other when the jaws are closed and said cutting edges adjustable relative to each other by rotation of the cutters, the cutters arranged within the hammer faces of the jaws.

2. Pliers comprising pivoted levers having jaws, each jaw having a notch on its inner face adjacent to the pivot for said levers and said notches opposed to each other and defining when the jaws are brought together a wire receiving openingY disposed transversely of the inner end of the pliers jaws,

and at right angles to the longitudinal median line of the pliers, each jaw having an annular recess, with its wall normal lto its top face, adjacent to said pivot and said recesses substantially opposite each other, a pair of circular cutters overlying said wire receiving opening and having depending hubs seated in said recesses and bearing against said walls, each hub having a bore therethrough terminating at its outer end in an enlarged annular recess in the top face of each cutter, and headed fastenings received in said bores with their heads disposed in said recesses flush with the top faces of the cutters, the pressure of the cutting actions being taken olf said fastenings by said hubs and walls.

3. Pliers comprising crossed levers pivoted to each other at 'their intersection and terminating in opposed jaws, said jaws eX- tended transversely beyond said pivot to provide opposed balanced hammer heads, and a pair of cutters mounted each on one of said jaws between said pivot and said heads and disposed in opposite coactive relation to each other, the lateral walls of said heads projecting beyond the outer sides of the cutters to protect the edges of the latter against injury when said faces are used to hammer.

In testimony whereof I aHiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LAROY S. STARRETT.

Witnesses:

FRANK E. WING, FLORENCE E. BoYoE. 

